Stumbling through the jungle at night is not a safe thing to do but they currently had few options, at least Quinn thought so. Fang was actually in the lead, as he did have the best vision in the dark compared to three humans and an elf. However, the wolf beastfolk was not the most adept at conveying the dangers that he easily saw and avoided. The fact that none of the others had twisted an ankle yet was a small miracle. Yet they were not exactly the happiest bunch as Wyen caught his foot on a protruding root and ate dirt again as a result. In fact, all except Fang had already done the same at least once. It made the hurried flight from danger look more like a scene of slapstick comedy.

“We need a plan,” Wyen said as Rebecca helped him back to his feet.

“We have to get Rebecca away from the Azural’s,” Adelade responded, “What else is there?”

“Why though?” Rebecca asked.

“Remember I said that it would be a bad idea to come here? When we said that others would try to use you? That’s what is going on right now,” Quinn answered.

“But why so violently? You all just came to talk to me.”

“I can’t say for sure,” Quinn said.

“Wait, you told her?” Wyen asked Quinn.

“Huh?” both Quinn and Rebecca responded confusedly.

“You told her about the rules?” Wyen repeated, “You know, about heroes?”

“Oh, well. Sort of, I guess.”

Both Adelade and Wyen sighed.

“What rules?” Rebecca asked.

“Basically the unspoken rules nobles have about heroes,” Quinn answered.

Rebecca seemed taken aback by that revelation, so Quinn elaborated further.

“Look, whether you want to be or not, you are going to be considered a hero. Anyone with power and influence is going to try and get you on their side, willingly or unwillingly.”

“So you are like that too.”

It was not a question, and Quinn felt a strange sense of guilt rear its head within him.

“Yes.”

“Look, can we save this for when we’re not being chased by a rogue noble?” Fang interrupted.

“Right. There’s another major port on the eastern side of the island. We’ll head there and secure a ship out of here,” Quinn said.

None of them noticed the uncomfortable expression that Rebecca had, even though she continued following.

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Staring off into the jungle from the gate of Azure Gaze, Cindra stood as she contemplated her own next move. The hero had companions who were capable of outwitting her guards. Admittedly, it was not the most complicated task and could be accomplished by moderately skilled adventurers, but the knowledge of who these companions were still eluded her.

There was a mage among them, since the scorch marks from an explosive fireball were unlikely the hero’s if her information about the hero was to be believed. Thorough questioning of the innkeeper led her to believe the companions, or at least a few of them, were nobility. Clearly they were not members of the Households faction, else they would have come to the estate. It explained why they had tried to hide among the commoners.

“Female mage, noble bearing… large chest,” she murmured, “Ghele.”

Her brow furrowed. If Ghele was here, then the royal family was already involved with the hero. Cindra turned to the pathetic guard captain watching her nervously.

“The men! What were the men?”

The captain looked confused for a fraction of a second before understanding.

“An elf, a wolf, and a human.”

“The commoner butler, the idiot knight, and the prince himself,” Cindra commented.

Of course if the royal family was involved, they were going to try and marry Quinn to the hero. The entire courtship party was a scam, or at least was a search for backup candidates, secondary queens, and concubines. Cindra shook with an embarrassed rage that she had not seen through that at the time.

“Find them. Find them now!” she yelled.

Despite the anger, Cindra knew that her actions in the moment were unlikely to produce results. As it was late, she decided to retire for the night. Keeping her targets on the run while she rested would only improve her chances of catching them tomorrow.

As she settled in to sleep, a smile crept across her face about how fun it would be to break the prince.

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Sunrise could not come quickly enough. As the morning rays of sun broke through the foliage overhead, travel through the jungle should have gotten easier. However, exhaustion was creeping in and its effects limited to benefits of the improved visibility.

“Fang? Why is the sun at our back? We need to be going east,” Quinn commented.

Fang, still in the lead, paused.

“I was trying to lose them still.”

It was a lie, as Quinn watched Fang’s eyes dart around as he had thought up the excuse. Clearly they had probably been going in circles. With no moonlight and the trees blocking the stars, it was easy to see how they had gotten so lost. Quinn elected to ignore the error, since despite it they had not been caught.

“We should probably stop for a while if we find a good spot to hide,” Wyen commented, “We’ve been on the move for hours.”

Quinn had to admit that Wyen was right. He could feel the strain on his mental faculties, which was one of his selling points. The strain was enough that his next thoughts escaped the rather tight control he had maintained recently.

“Heh. I’ll get to sleep with the hero.”

Everyone stopped mid-step and looked at him.

“Really?” Adelade asked sarcastically.

Wyen came up at the same time and whapped him on the back of the head. Rebecca had a perplexed look on her face that just barely broke through her own visible exhaustion. Fang shook his head in a mild disappointment as he scanned for any sort of area large enough to hide in.

Shortly, Fang had found a tree whose exposed roots offered something of a hidden cave to shelter in. Fortunately, no wild animals seemed to have claimed the space, and it was just a large enough space beneath that all five could be somewhat comfortable.

Despite the exhaustion, Fang kept watch over the others as they rested. He knew that comparatively, he was not the best knight available to the royal family to serve as a personal guard. Sure, there were many times when the job was easy, which made it equally easy to hide shortcomings. It took a lot of guts to try and assassinate a royal, and frankly not many tried as a result. More often anymore, a personal guard was a showpiece to deter such attempts. Fang looked the part, but he did feel a loyalty to Quinn as well, and so he was allowed to be where he was.

It was moments like the last few months that highlighted Fang’s failures as a knight though. He was young and potentially had many years before him to improve, if he made it through these trying times. He lost to a mere baron, albeit due to poison, failed to slay the creature that attacked the fields himself, and now was on the run with his charge from a dangerous rogue noble. Fang felt miserable for, at the very least in his own mind, failing his duty to adequately protect Quinn. He should have insisted on more knights, or a naval escort, or something more than just himself. Alas, he was the one shouldering the inadequacy, though not even Quinn would likely acknowledge it. He let out a low, fittingly canine-like whimper that sounded somewhat like a groan.

“Fang?”

He turned to see Rebecca, herself in a half awake state, looking at him with concern.

“Yes?” he whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, just thinking a bit.”

“What about?”

Fang hesitated. Revealing his weakness to her could be a security concern should she turn against Sengar. However, she was a hero, and could probably beat him regardless of his own skill should she take up combat. He decided to confide in her.

“I’m not really worthy to be here.”

She seemed confused, so he elaborated by expressing his thoughts he had been considering.

“I see,” she said when he was done, “So I made your job harder.”

Fang panicked as she turned his perceived failings inward on herself.

“No! I just should have been better. More forceful. At least expressed my concerns!”

Rebecca gave a small smile.

“Maybe. But you are loyal to him. To all of them really. It counts for something.”

Fang did not respond as he considered her statement. Loyalty was good, even when it mattered little in the heat of combat.

“We’ll make it through this somehow. And you’ll be better for it,” she concluded.

Fang was not sure, but it appeared that that was all Rebecca had to say on the matter. She leaned back and returned to her nap. It left him to think about the situation, which did not last long as sleep unfortunately crept over him.

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“Where are they?” Cindra demanded.

The unfortunate victim of her verbal tirade winced in terror. She would have to make sure to break him of that later.

“We spent all night searching the surrounding jungle and patrolling the road. We even sent word to Perzu,” the man stammered.

With an irritated glance and a gesture, she had a pair of guards take the coward away to her private prison. She barely paid attention to the pleading and begging that was shouted towards her as they dragged him away.

It seemed that she would have to go herself. It was not a prospect that she felt annoyed by, per say, since there was certainly going to be satisfaction in bringing in both the prince and hero by her own hand before bending them to her will. Or breaking them along the way, the outcome mattered little. She would also be able to snap the Ghele house’s future, since her family still stung from when they had humiliated the Azural’s ten years ago.

Cindra went and changed into something more comfortable for trekking through the jungle. For the most part, comfortable clothing was simple except for pants. Pants were often tight, though she was fine with the stares she garnered from those who looked. She knew what ‘assets’ she had and used it for what she could. They could not, or would not, touch her. It seemed like she might need a new pair of pants for her adventuring outfit sooner than expected. Still, she strapped a rapier to her belt and departed the estate.

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The sounds of their pursuers were close enough to startle Fang out of the doze he had drifted into. It was not clear right now how long he had been out of it, but the sunlight suggested it was now afternoon. Waking everyone else was simple, and an unspoken agreement left everyone silent about how long they had been resting for the moment.

The sound of leather boots crushing sticks and other debris underfoot drew closer. None dared peek out right now from their hidden position, lest they be given away.

“Hold! Look there,” a female voice rang out.

Tension increased within the hiding place.

“It’s a little one, a juvenile,” replied a man.

“Kill it before it attacks,” commanded the woman.

Footsteps drew closer, seemingly surrounding the tree. Quinn and the others could see the legs of the soldiers as they clung to the shadows within as best they could. Spears were thrust upwards into the tree canopy above.

A raging hiss echoed around and a heavy thud sounded as something fell from the tree. A large yellow snake slid along the ground and lashed out at the soldiers. Catching one soldier in its massive mouth, it quickly coiled around the man and began squeezing. It was small, for its species, at about nine meters as it used its entire body in the process. Fellow soldiers shouted and tried to pry the creature off the man whose bones could be heard snapping. A few realized the hopeless situation their comrade was in and started stabbing at the creature again with spear and sword.

“Fang, now!” Quinn urged.

Fang burst from beneath the tree onto the scene, closely followed by Wyen and Quinn, and lastly Adelade. The sudden emergence threw the soldiers, and Cindra, for a loop, which gave the group time to act.

Adelade unleashed fire in Cindra’s direction while the others crossed swords with soldiers not occupied by the snake-beast, which had already secured a second victim. Though not necessarily going for the kill, several soldiers would not leave the area alive. As valiant an attempt as their surprise attack was, they were clearly outnumbered. The snake finally perished after a third victim was left severely wounded, allowing every soldier remaining to focus on the ambush.

A magic duel raged overhead as Adelade alone held off against three mages, one countering most of her spells, one defending the soldiers and themselves, and the third attacking. Unfortunately for them, her casting speed and power made the division necessary, even then failing to best her most of the time. While Adelade struggled at times, she was holding her ground.

Fang meanwhile was the superior swordfighter. A dozen soldiers lay wounded on the ground, incapable of continuing to fight from wounds on their arms and legs. Quinn and Wyen had seven and five opponents bested respectively.

The surprise was over though, and the soldiers were holding back and working together now to entrap the group. Everyone realized that the situation was becoming futile to continue, and combat died down.

“Hello Prince Quinn,” Cindra said in a faux sense of politeness, “What brings you to the Azural Islands?”

“So that is what you plan to do? Break away entirely,” Quinn responded.

“We would be much better off that way,” Cindra sneered, “I look forward to being queen so very much. Maybe I will have you make the mainland into a vassal under my rule.”

“Really? I think your plans are quite far-fetched. You will be coming with me back to the capital where you will be charged with treason and found guilty.”

Cindra laughed.

“You and these fools? Or are you going to bring out the hero? Come out, come out!”

Quinn looked towards the roots where they had been hiding. There was a lack of movement for a moment, but then Rebecca emerged. There was a pained expression on her face as she glanced around at the wounded, but turned to face Cindra.

“The hero that heals. You will make a fine addition to my court. I will give you a choice: you come with me willingly and serve my kingdom or I drag you back to Azure Gaze and I make you serve my kingdom. I do hope you pick the second one.”

Quinn saw movement behind Cindra and could not keep the smile from crossing his face.

“You fail to realize just how bad your position is, Cindra. You have one last chance to come quietly,” Quinn said.

“Ha! You can not scare me.”

All three of the mages Adelade had previously been fighting dropped dead instantly. A lone woman stood behind two of them. Cindra felt someone from behind grab and twist her arm behind her, locking it in place. A dagger sheathed in shadowy energy flashed just through her sight before she felt it at her throat.

“Thank you for returning so quickly,” Quinn called out to Phillippe and Vivette.